This invention relates to a catheter which is particularly intended for use during internal therapy of a patient under radiation to reduce stenosis or restenosis in a lumen.
The radioactive conductor integral with and carried by the balloon device is introduced into a patient together with the balloon device. When doing so any balloon members of the balloon device are deflated, so that this device has a small diameter.
When the balloon device has been maneuvered into the target position inside the body of the patient, the balloon member may be inflated in order to unfold the radioactive conductor which has been arranged in a predetermined pattern. There is an interaction between the conductor and the lumen, which provides a number of diagnostic possibilities.
A suitable electric current may for instance be simultaneously fed to the conductor, as a result of which a magnetic field is created affecting the field of the MRI device, producing visible effects on the MRI screen. The conductor may also be entirely passive and result in radioactive energy being provided to the lumen. The device may also be used by inducing an electric current in the conductor, of which the various properties can be measured.
The invention will be explained in greater detail in the following description with reference to the attached figures.